By JOHN M. HOOBER III, Staff
A Lancaster man and woman were injured in a hit-and-run crash Wednesday night on East King Street, near Bridgeport, city police said.
The alleged hit-and-run vehicle, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, struck a 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit driven by Clark Allen, 56, of the first block of Cottage Avenue, at about 9:10 p.m., police said.
City firefighters freed Allen and his passenger, Cheryl Kreiser, also of the first block of Cottage Avenue, from the wreckage.
Kreiser suffered a fractured pelvis and is in serious condition at Lancaster General Hospital. Allen had neck and shoulder injuries and is in fair condition, an LGH supervisor reported this morning.
Irvin Clair Slaymaker III, 40, of 1602 Millport Road, was the alleged hit-and-run driver, police said. Slaymaker was not injured, and he is being charged with driving under the influence of intoxicants and hit-and-run involving an injury, police said.
The accident happened when Allen pulled out from a side street onto the 1200 block of East King Street, police said. The front end of the eastbound Jeep struck the passenger side of the Volkswagen, police said.
Allen and Kreiser were both pinned inside the Volkswagen, which had extensive damage, Officer Paul Blanchflower said.
Police said the Jeep continued heading east on King Street, but the headlights were not working because of the accident. East Lampeter Township police Sgt. Brian Cloonan spotted the unlit vehicle at the Lampeter Road intersection and pulled it over.
The accident closed East King Street for about 90 minutes.
Just before 8:15 a.m. today, a motorcyclist was injured in an accident at the New Holland Road/Red Well Drive intersection, north of Route 340, in Leacock Township.
Lancaster County Control dispatched Intercourse firefighters and rescue crews to the scene. An ambulance took one person, believed to be the motorcyclist, to Lancaster General Hospital. No further information was available.
In earlier accidents:
• Robert William Decker Jr., of 365 E. Marion St., fled the scene after his pickup truck allegedly collided with a car shortly after 7:30 p.m Wednesday at Mount Sidney Road and Old Philadelphia Pike, East Lampeter Township police said.
Township police Officer Jeff Nikolaus spotted the pickup in the 2500 block of Horseshoe Road and saw someone using a crow bar to try to remove the bumper, Sgt. Brian Cloonan said.
Decker is being charged with a hit-and-run violation and driving under suspension, Cloonan said. Police said his truck collided with a Ford Focus driven by Richard Shirk, 28, of 20 W. Main St., Strasburg, but there were no injuries.
• A Ford F-150 pickup truck driven by Tharon L. Barron Jr., 45, of Denver, struck a utility pole at 1 p.m. Wednesday on Stone Mill Road,. near Route 897, in Brecknock Township, Ephrata state police said.
The impact snapped the pole in half, Trooper Garry P. Ford Jr. reported. The truck had severe damage, but Barron was not injured, the trooper said.
• A 2002 Saab driven by Beth R. Reinhart, 43, of Strasburg, crashed into a ditch on Reservoir Road, west of Paradise Lane, in Strasburg Township shortly before 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Lancaster state police said.
Reinhart was not injured, Trooper Bertrum A. James said.
• A Chevrolet Lumina driven by Ronald D. Monk, 49, Nottingham, struck the back of a Dodge Ram truck driven by Willis M. Martin, 73, of Nottingham, at 9:36 a.m. Wednesday on Route 472 in Little Britain Township, Lancaster state police said.
Both drivers had minor injuries and were taken to Lancaster General Hospital.
The accident happened just west of the Little Britain Road South intersection, Trooper William J. Colvin said.
• Jason Hightower, 31, of 823 Sterling Place, drove his brother's rental car into two parked cars in a parking lot of the Sterling Place townhouse complex in Lancaster Township shortly after 2 a.m Wednesday, city police said.
The back of the rental car then struck one of the townhouse buildings, Officer William Genetti said.
Hightower apparently was in a hurry to get to his sister's house to tell her that his mother had a medical problem, Genetti said.
Police said Hightower fled from the crash scene, and he will be charged with careless driving and leaving the scene of an accident.
Staff writer John M. Hoober III can be reached at jhoober@LNPnews.com or 481-6027.
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